first day back. students return to school for the first time in more than a week and they are still forced to walk around snow. the mass rush back to school has many area roads overwhelmed. many will down to a single lane because of those huge snow banks. good morning, everyone. i'm andrea roane. thanks for joining us. today is tuesday, february 16th. it is a day of celebration in new orleans and even cool there. howard, what's your forecast like? >> they are 32 going to the low 50s which is a chilly mardi gras for them. they can be in the 70s this time of the year or the low 50s. we us we had a little snow. and let's go to live doppler

hd. we still have some flurries showing up. east of baltimore is where we were watching but now in jefferson county, west virginia. we are looking at that area of snow shower activity moving south through charles town west of purcellville and east of berryville on route 7. as we go to faulkier county, upperville through the plains and marshall. here's 66 just getting in on the west side of prince william county. you may have a couple of flurries. even in to photograph ford here, a few flurries. as we look at the day at a glance it will be blustery a few flurries. temperatures in the mid-30s and near 40s south with a little wind. angie, good morning. >> good morning. welcome to the 9:00 hour. we begin with 9 news now video of a messy accident on the outer loop ramp to access 95 northbound. you are looking at this overturned tractor-trailer. we're told it is carrying hazardous material and we saw a

driver crashed in to the truck. the camera director asked me were there any your injuries and thankfully there were no injuries and we are watching the traffic get by to the left but very, very slowly. the bw parkway and route 1 are alternatives if you want to avoid this all together. meanwhile, we are dealing with other issues on the capital beltway. on the outer loop as we switch the camera over, jammed from 95 to georgia avenue and seeing high volume around the river road exit. making your way in to virginia to the dulles toll road and 66. we have this wreck we have been following the last hour in silver spring. it is at plyers mill avenue and georgia. a lot of heavy volume there. district of columbia northbound at 250, a new crash here going southbound. that's where we are feeling the pain to the route 50 area. that's where we have a lot of congestion thanks to an earlier accident. that's the traffic.

now, back to you. >> thank you. the heavy amounts of snow we received last week continue to be a problem. just after 4:00 this morning a breezeway that connects two buildingsings and an apartment complex in reston came down due to the weight of the snow and also brought down a heating unit. nine apartments had to be evacuated due to the lack of heat. all of this winter weather led to another problem on area roads, potholes. emergency repairs closed all but one lane in alexandria yesterday on the inner loop. and another pothole closed a lane of rockville pike in bethesda. highway officials say they know about the potholes but with crews tied up moving snow repairing the potholes will take some time. you can learn your warnings on our website at wusa9.com. dc public schools opened on time this morning. crews cleared the street in

northwest from curb-to-curb so teachers could be able to park there. many students in our region open for the first time in more than a week. road crews were out making sure students had a clear path to school. we have a look at conditions along randolph road. >> good morning. i just got off the phone with a spokesperson for montgomery county public schools and he says so far so good. we are 20 minutes out from the opening bell and look at the traffic that is really starting to stack up on randolph road. the road has been dead. but in the past half hour our traffic has really picked up. look at what students are doing. you can see, you heard of your grandparents say i used to walk a mile up hill in the snow to get to school every day. students, as they head back in

montgomery county are doing just that. check out this student walking up the hill. it is actually tiring. i was walking up one similar to that this morning and it is quite a workout as your feet plunge in to the snow. they are going back after a week off. the big question is how is montgomery county going to makeup for nine snow days they have had so far. so far they are not sure but the superintendent says he will be asking the state department of education for a waiver. hopefully these kids won't have to go too far in to their summer vacation. but so far we are looking good out here. back to you. 9 news now's coverage continues across the river. jessica doyle is live in falls church with a look at the conditions there. >> reporter: we are at baileys elementary school and ready to

get school kicked off today. we are seeing teachers come back and a couple of kids already. the big crush will be at 10:30 when classes start here. earlier this morning we caught up with the principal who gave us safety suggestions for parents. here's what he had to say. >> if you have a child who rides the bus, walk them to the bus stop and be with them until the bus comes. we want to make sure students have a safe place to stand. if you have a child who's a walker, walk with them. they have a lot of places that will be fine to be on the sidewalks and hit a place where they would have to hit the road. we want parents to be with them to make safe choices. do not let your child off in an undesignated area. people aren't expecting a child to come out of a car in some of though places and that's not

safe. it is important to be with your children and exercise patience. >> reporter: you know, we have point out those safety concerns aren't just today but the next week or so as the snow melts and of course, the parents came out here as well, helped to get the facility ready. the parking lot is in great shape and the lots. and the surrounding streets could be a problem. >> thank you. for more help surviving the day's commute log on to washington usa. once there be sure to upload winter photos. just click on the tab on the front page. in other news, the virginia house has set up votes on bills that will ease handgun laws. the biggest will remove the limit of one handgun a month. another bill up for a vote would keep concealed carry permit records private. the taliban is denying reports that a top commander is in custody. the new york times is reporting

that mullah abdul ghani baradar has been in custody several days now. u.s. officials say he is undergoing interrogation. mullah abdul ghani baradar is considered number two in taliban leadership. but some say he has not been detained and remains in afghanistan. u.s. marines involved in a tough fire fight in afghanistan. the marines and the taliban stronghold of marjah say the firefighter with insurgents is nonstop. officials say some insurgents have even slipped in to areas already cleared to open fire on marines from behind u.s. lines. last week, snow caused much of our world to slow down. in some cases it even came to a complete stop. how much of an affect did the storms have on our local economy? we will have a look when we return.

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i know. i can only taste... only taste the crunchy clusters, honey, and brown sugar. no madam, i don't have esp. ok. i'll take a box, but you probably already knew that. (announcer) fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes. snowplow operators are dreaming of summer vacations. >> good to have you with us. one landscaper with a snowplow on his truck called the snow stimulus money from heaven. what's the impact on the back- to-back snowstorm. >> there are winners and losers, of course, the grocery stores are sold out. the restaurants are struggling. interesting when you get 0 the end of the year and the economic gross data you can't

see the effect. car sales will be down in february, up in march. so a lot of spending gets deferred and that's a we saw in the ' 96 blizzard which was similar to this when we lost a week. january was terrible. the data showed, looking like the economy was dropping through the basement. the next month was better than normal. there are losers. anyone on an hourly wage, many people on an hourly wage, taxi driver the other day said he had no work for five days. part-time, self employeed -- self employed, florists if no one is in there is no business. >> especially over valentine's day that was a big problem. >> could have been. >> and you don't buy two dozen roses to make up for the one you missed. so there will be people struggling for a couple of months. the good news is if this had

been in may or a hurricane in october, the impact would have been greater. a day in february isn't the same as a day in may. there isn't construction going on. there are some good sides to this. and the snowplow guys did well. >> i remember reading barbara lange talking about the travel and tourism industry. hotels that lost out on travelers coming but made up on the media crowd lets having to put up workers in some hotels. >> hour economy is different than in detroit. we can work on our own. i think we will see there is more telecommuting. we are lot more electronic. 20 years ago this would have had more impact than today. i think governments and businesses will see how much work got done and find ways to have better plans and strategies so we can work at home. i didn't go to work for -- the university was shut down for a

week. i worked every single day because i'm on-line and i could write and even federal workers were working. >> exactly. we have to go but the jurisdictions are asking the federal government for disaster relief what about small businesses, do they have any outlet to ask for relief? >> i doubt it. local government was hard hit on this because they have to take money out of other programs to pay for the plowing. it's tough and it will show up this month in the data but by may it will be warm and we will be happy. >> like that forecast. dr. fuller, thank you. >> howard, can you match that forecast. >> warm and happy, not in the short term but maybe the next couple of months. today upper 30s, maybe near 40 south with a couple of flurries. partly to mostly cloudy skies. not much change tomorrow and then thursday, less wind and i think we will crack the 40- degree mark. the slow melt will continue. blustery with flurries a times 35 to 40 with a westerly wind.

tonight, mostly cloudy and cold. that will cause refreezing. slick spots redeveloping. lows in the 20s and tomorrow not much change. a qume of flurries are possible. highs 35 to 40. you can see the moisture that hit us earlier. that was yesterday. this was this morning, new pulling in to new jersey and the delmarva. recently a few flurries popped up here. watching that on live doppler hd. an you see it not far from charles town on doppler if you can. charles town in to berryville, control room, please give me doppler. and then go to catlett in to faulkier county. you see the line here. it is moving to the south southeast. you can see it charles town over to purcellville. those area of flurries five to ten miles to the east. the plains here, it is real thin in faulkier county to cromwell and almost

garrissonville and stafford. a couple of light flurries. we are lookinged a readings in the 20s to around 30s south. we have wind chills out there. because the winds are out of the west at 12. temperatures 29. wind chill is 19 and at times the winds will gust over 20 miles an hour. there's the storm system. other than the snow knot and west we are not in bad shape. check it out. today and tomorrow, upper 30s. and in the low 40s on thursday through saturday and a weak system could give us a few flurries or light snow south over the weekend. >> thank you. an unusual love story of two people whose love endured extraordinary challenges comes to the avalon theater. the producer and director of the film is with us. joan, i will start with you as the director and producer, why did you want to make the story. >> because i was so inspired by

two people whose love surpassed the most challenges of circumstances, was a gender transformation and their love endured and it's an inspiring story and i want to inspire other people. >> millie, seeing your life up on the big screen, how does that feel? >> it's overwhelming. i am -- in looking back on it, while i was watching the film, when i went through my transition, my life was about looking forward, what's the next thing, what's the next thing to do and then watching the movie, i looked back on it and it was so overpowering. all of the things i went through to get where i was. it was kind of like i was a basket case after i watched the movie. >> reporter: it is a personal story, something usually a lot of people want to keep private

or don't know how to explain to others. why did you say yes to having your life put out there for everyone to see? >> i don't know. >> still feeling that basket case a little bit. >> i have no idea. it seemed like a really good idea at the time. >> reporter: and joan, as far as getting this, this is an independent, low-budget film. we have had authors on before talking about self publishing, how do you distribute a film when it is costly and so competitive? >> there's a new wave in film making for independent film makers to distribute on the internet. so we are doing all the social marketing, social sites getting the word out on blogs and twitter and facebook and my space and soulmatesmovie.com is the website and people are buying dvds. it's the new wave for independent film making because

the studio system is a difficult nut to crack for independent film makers and actually more difficult than it ever has been. >> reporter: millie, what do you want audiences to walk away from after seeing this film? >> if they could walk away from this film with a little more permission to be just who they are and have love present in their life i think it will be all worth it. >> thank you very much for sharing your story. joan, thank you for putting it out will for all to see. it opens at the avalon on sunday night. we'll be right back. look at you.

body rested. stress gone. mind sharp. because unisom gave you deep restful sleep all night. morning early birds. unisom. good night. good morning. colonial williamsburg is billing it as a magical weekend. guests are invited to be part of the story. with me is the executive chef, reese lewis. what do you mean be part of the story here. >> williamsburg is a living history museum and when you visit you are part of the story. >> there is a lot going on i understand. >> a concert is on saturday and she's a great country artist. i have her christmas album. >> if you missed valentine's day you can make up the 26th through the 28th. this chocolate cake you have here, i want to dive in to at this time.

it smells really great. >> dark chocolate, cream scolded, would you be able to stir something. >> i would be happy to. >> take this and stir that lightly and we will set it off to the side. a little bit of butter will go in there. >> this have a flourless cake? >> this is actually a chocolate truffle tart. i have butter and corn syrup in here and of course some chocolately cure to intensify it. what we will make is again natch and that is what you see the body of the tort. this is a baked like chocolate cookie that provides the bottom of it. >> you could use something other than chocolate if you would want to. >> you could make a graham cracker crust or something if you want to. and the chocolate will melt. if you want to eat it, it is ready to go. >> be careful what you offer.

>> i but it on here. >> a double boiler affect. >> what will happen is the chocolate will melt through and become smooth and liquid. this is ganache. >> i'm a chocolate fan. we have a minute. so you know -- >> this will be poured in to here and this is a finished tort. and i will garnish one with a little chocolate. little cherry sauce. this is like a cherry caramel and i will grab it out of the freezer. this is a honey beer ice cream. and we will garnish it with a little honey beer ice cream. >> we all want to try it when we are done. >> how do you make honey beer ice cream. >> this one we had williamsburg

pale ale. >> wow. this is really nice. and we will come back and i will show you the seven-day forecast and i'm sure andrea and angie will taste this t. this is fantastic. stick around. you are watching 9 news now. [ male announcer ] how do you get your favorite toppings

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here's what's on tap for the rest of the week -- how will credit card reform affect your credit card bill? our mind over money team will have answers to that and more this friday. howard? >> so the guinness beer goes with the chocolate cake and honey beer ice cream. weather wise a couple flurries are possible. breezy and cold today and tomorrow. better thursday and friday and a weak system gives us a few flurries. we continue the slow melt off

which is good. even though you want it warm this is better. >> this recipe is on our website at wusa9.com. we hope. hey, we're celebrating mardi gras. we didn't even know it. >> have a great day. the next news is at noon with j.c. and howard. bye-bye.